1. Sunflowers Are Rooted in American Soil
The cheery blooms we call sunflowers are produced by an annual plant (Helianthus annuus) that originated in North America. Dating as far back as 3000 BC, Native Americans grew sunflowers for medicine, oil, and food. Eventually, they began breeding the plants to produce a single, large flower head instead of several smaller ones. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers brought sunflowers to Europe, where they soon became popular for their beauty and usefulness. By the 19th century, Russia alone was planting two million acres of sunflowers every year. If you’re feeling inspired to plant your own sunflowers, we have good news: they’re easy to grow from seeds. Because they’re annuals, they will only last one season, but there are also perennial species in the sunflower family to try.
2. Sunflower Seeds Are Good for You
Sunflower seeds are a favorite snack at baseball games, where fans and players munch on them throughout games. Many schools also recommend them as an allergy-friendly alternative to nuts. The shelled seeds can make a tasty addition to bread and other baked goods or can be sprinkled over salads. Not only are they tasty, but they’re highly nutritious too—sunflower seeds are a rich source of protein, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and vitamin E. The next time you’re looking for a healthy snack, grab a handful of sunflower seeds and get cracking.
3. Sunlight Is A Must For Sunflowers
Their name is no coincidence: Sunflowers truly need sunlight to thrive. Sunflowers need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight a day, but even more time soaking up the rays is ideal. The flower buds also display a unique behavior called heliotropism, which means they gradually move to follow the sun’s position in the sky as it moves from east to west throughout the day. Once the buds open into flowers, their stems stiffen and remain in place, with the flowers facing east all day long.
4. Thousands of Small Flowers Make Up One Sunflower
Sunflowers aren’t just one flower like they appear to be; they actually contain 1,000 to 2,000 smaller flowers. Each petal of the head of a sunflower is what botanists call a ray floret. The inner “eye” is made up of disk florets, which are arranged in mesmerizing patterns of interconnecting spirals. Only the disk florets develop into seeds—they can either pollinate themselves or cross-pollinate with other sunflowers with help from wind or pollinators like bees and butterflies.
5. Sunflowers Are Icons in Art, Music, and Pop Culture
The Sunflowers series by the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh is one of his most well-known works—and one of the most well-known artistic depictions of sunflowers to date. The vivid oil paintings are a bright spot among some of Van Gogh’s darker works and have inspired many other artists around the world. More recently, sunflowers were named one of the top three flowers in Minecraft and you might have found yourself humming along to “Sunflower”, which was released in October 2018 and remained in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 33 weeks.
